Cornell University

Thought Summits

Call for Proposals

Next call: March, 2026

Thought Summits on Data Science and AI

“Thought Summits” are a Cornell forum aimed at identifying and developing inter- and intra- institutional collaborations in the novel areas of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. We envision a Thought Summit as a fully-funded 3-5 day symposium hosted at Cornell’s main campus, where a core of Cornell faculty can interact with about 20 external experts and leaders from academia, government, industry, and/or non-profit organizations.

Thought Summits are meant to identify new and exciting areas of research, and they produce a whitepaper that can be viewed as a first step towards multi-institutional, large-scale, external funding opportunities that merge methodological innovations in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence with compelling applications.

Thought Summits on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence are funded by the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society and the Cornell AI Initiative. We expect to fund multiple Thought Summits in the current application cycle.

More details

All Cornell University faculty are invited to apply.

Can a PI or Co-PI apply for more than one Thought Summit per call?

No. PIs, Co-PIs (aka collaborators) can only participate in one Thought Summit per call.

What time frame does the Thought Summit need to occur?

It depends on the timing of the CFP.  If the CFP is in the spring, the Thought Summit would need to take place within the next July 1 – June 30th fiscal year.  If the CFP is in the fall, it may be able to rollover to the following fiscal year depending on funding.

Proposal Details

Key Dates

The next call for proposals will open in March 2026. Check back here for more information as the time approaches.

Who May Apply?

All Cornell University faculty are invited to apply. Ideally, proposals will be from teams of three or more PIs, representing at least three different departments. A faculty member can participate in at most one proposal for this call.

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research initiatives are especially encouraged.

Proposals are reviewed by both the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society and by the Cornell AI Initiative. Funding is allocated based on thematic fit and availability of funds.

Proposal Process

Please submit the below materials using the submission form.

  1. Contact Information for all PIs and Collaborators
  2. Project Proposal (two-page maximum, single spaced, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman).
  3. Tentative list of potential external participants (should include peer academic institutions, NGO’s, government organizations, and/or industry)
  4. Potential dates for the thought summit (provide 3 options)
  5. Budget outline
  6. CVs for all PI’s (two-page, NSF biosketch style format) or a link to a personal website

Unfortunately, we cannot accept incomplete or late submissions.

Funding and Terms

$30,000- $50,000

The funds are mainly intended to help cover travel expenses and accommodation for the external participants, as well as other event expenses (food, conference space, etc). No salary, summer salary, or funds for research assistantship should be included in the budget. 20% of the funding will cover indirect costs of the unit that provides administrative staff support for organizing the Thought Summit.

Criteria for Thought Summits

Funding determinations will be assessed based on the criteria below. Please consider addressing these questions in your proposal.

  • How does the theme for the summit merge methodological innovations in data science and/or artificial intelligence with compelling applications?
  • How is the project necessarily inter- and/or trans-disciplinary?
  • What is the mechanism you will use to record notes and outcomes from the sessions, and for producing a public whitepaper (potentially allocating some budget to support this)?
  • What is the intended follow-up for this project to obtain future funds, especially plans to submit to large-scale funding opportunities?
    Describe the project’s potential contributions to {use Cornell’s new ‘any person’ language}.
  • Provide a tentative list of Cornell and external participants.

All projects must be relevant to advancing data science and/or artificial intelligence as a field.

Additional Questions

For questions concerning your proposal, please contact info@thoughtsummits.cornell.edu 

Award Recipient Guidelines

Planning

The host/award recipient of the event is responsible for the planning and logistics of the Thought Summits. This includes travel arrangements, hotel reservations, lecture room reservations, receptions and any other event logistics. 20% of the overall budget will go to the unit that provides administrative staff support to cover indirect costs.

The final date of the Thought Summit will be selected from the choices provided by the applicant and in coordination with the award recipients.

The PI will meet regularly (every ~2-3 months) with the relevant awarding unit to review progress and key planning objectives.

The Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society and the Cornell AI Initiative will help promote the Thought Summit via their websites, e-list, affiliated departments, and social media.

Post Thought Summit

After your Summit is complete you will be required to:

  • Provide a 2-page written evaluation of the Thought Summit within 2 weeks of the event.
  • Conduct a final meeting with the awarding unit for debrief within 2 weeks of the event.
  • The whitepaper is to be submitted within 2 months of the Thought Summit.